Reflections
by Glavin69
Summary: Luke's thoughts during his speeder ride to the Jawa Sandcrawler after seeing his aunt and uncle dead. Short and sweet, so take 5 min. and R&R please!


REFLECTIONS  
  
"I can't believe they're gone." Luke Skywalker said to an empty speeder, while hot tears were running down his cheek.  
  
He wished for so long that he'd be able to leave. There were days he felt he couldn't spend another moment on that damn farm. For years he longed for nothing more than his own freedom, but he didn't want it like this.  
  
He had his disagreements with Owen, but Owen was the closest thing he'd ever had to a father. No, he may not have always gotten along with Owen, but he always respected him.  
  
Then there was poor Beru. He had known Beru as the most loving and understanding person he had ever met. Beru was so innocent, so pure and now she was gone.  
  
He thought of their charred bodies laying on the desert sand. Two innocent people were dead. It was an image he'd never forget no matter how hard he tried. Who would do such a thing? What sort of government would butcher innocent people in it's quest for justice and greatness? For slaughtering innocents was neither great nor just.  
  
Luke felt his stomach churn, and he wiped his tears from his hot face. His sorrow turned to anger. His hatred for the Empire grew. He could not let them get away with this. He would have his vengeance! He would stop at nothing!  
  
"Nothing.?" he thought. Nothing was what they would stop at. He must not be like them. He must find true justice, and true greatness for those were the things that truly mattered. Revenge may seem just but it is not always so. If he were to go after anything affiliated with the Empire, innocents may be harmed and that would not be just. He must destroy those in charge for it is their fault.  
  
But perhaps. those in charge of the Empire were not to blame. Perhaps her people were to blame. After all, it was her people who put this government into power. To this day, despite the sorry state of the galaxy and all of the bloodshed. And why, why would they do this. Why would anyone relinquish their freedom? How could they accept it.  
  
And then he realized. If you relinquish your freedom, you have someone to blame if things go wrong. If you are not in charge of your own fate, you can't be to blame for your problems. The reason people gave up their freedom was simple: they were afraid.  
  
Freedom means responsibility and many people like to avoid that. They'd just as soon let some tyrant run their lives then live in fear. But we all have our own tyrants, don't we? Something we let control our lives. Whether it be our love, our anger, our greed, our fear. We are all slaves to something. We all have something that controls us.  
  
Fear seemed to be the overwhelming tyrant of this galaxy. So many people afraid for their lives when they ought to be worried about their lives. For they are not truly living. One can not live a good life without love or justice or freedom. Many think they have these things but don't realize that they choose not to have these things and then they wonder why their lives are miserable.  
  
Luke made a pledge to himself as he grew nearer to the destroyed Sandcrawler where Obi-Wan and the droids waited for him. He pledged that he would not live like them. He would not live in fear. He would be free, truly free and he would bring to the galaxy not only justice but also a bit of mercy. For while justice is important, it is mercy that makes us human.  
  
He would not fight for vengeance, but justice. He would not feel anger, but love. He would not be afraid, he would be free, truly free. With his true freedom, he would accept the consequences of his actions, even if it meant death. He finally had his freedom, and he would not be afraid of it, he would embrace it.  
  
He brought the speeder to a stop several meters from the Sandcrawler. Before climbing out, he looked down at his Father's lightsaber which now hung from his belt and silently he made a vow. "I will make you proud father. I will restore justice, and love to this desolate galaxy. I will go to Alderan with Obi-Wan. I will become a Jedi. I will make the rest of the galaxy question authority, for though it seems like treason to many, to me it is the only true way to obtain freedom. The only way to be truly free. 


End file.
